"gonna getcha"

A True Story...

Back and forth. Back and forth. A young girl in high school, tall and very thin with stringy blond hair, is swinging at Ravine Park in Attica. Once the swing can no longer sway any higher, she leaps out and falls onto her stomach. Over and over again.

The stringy haired girl is taking "acid" and "ecstasy" in massive amounts. Her world has become a delusion of events.

The stringy haired girl quits eating.

The stringy haired girl is pregnant.

And she is trying to "solve" her "problem" on her own.

This girl is a girl that I knew in high school that ended up having an abortion. I can name a dozen girls that I went to high school with that have done the same. These girls are out trying to find acceptance in the arms of a young boy. This young boy has a brain that quit functioning at about 16 and only thinks about "T and A". The end result is a child that never asked to be brought into this world and never asked to be taken out it either. The quick fix. The band aid. The "solution". Abortion.

"It's not a baby. It is just a string of DNA. It is just a bundle of tissues and cells. It is like a blood clot. People do it all the time. It is okay. You don't want to ruin your life, do you?!"

Parents are often times, completely unaware that their daughter has had abortion. They continue to dish out lunch and gas money to their son that is saving this money to help pay for the abortion. Parents are out of touch. Even more sadly, some parents are encouraging and sometimes forcing their pregnant daughters to have an abortion. They want their children to have a "better" life than they did. They don't want to see them end up at a dead end job, trying to make ends meet, having to lay aside their dreams to raise a baby.

The truth is, your dreams don't get put aside. They change. They adapt. They become bigger and more important than a 6-digit salary and notoriety.

The truth is, that if you were to visit ANY of these girls today and ask them if they regret their decision... they would probably lie about having the procedure ever done. They struggle daily with depression and guilt. They think they don't deserve to be happy. They self-destruct. In some rare occasions treatment is sought and healing can begin. But the denial of the entire event usually becomes a coping mechanism and they end up in a dead end life.

True Story...

The cars pass by. Car. Truck. Car. Car. A young girl arrives in the sunshine state. Family and bad memories behind her. Her future is bright. She has plans. She has dreams. She has goals. She is driven. A slightly older Navy man takes an interest in her. They enjoy one another. The new-ness. The excitement. The possibility. They laugh. She pushes a grocery cart, he throws the items in from across the aisle. They are oblivious. They are infatuated.

She gets pregnant.

He has plans. He has dreams. He has goals. He is driven. He is leaving for Hawaii. He suggests a quick fix. A band-aid. A "solution". Abortion.

He is out of the question.

She is alone. She is scared. She is strong. She has new plans. She has new dreams. She has new goals. She is driven.

She is my mom.

And I am a very grateful little string of DNA. A bundle of tissues and cells that has plans. Has dreams. Has goals. I am driven.


Listen up...

Abortion is not the problem. Abortion is a symptom. The problem is heart issue with these women. Abortion is being completely misrepresented to these women. Let's show them the truth. Let's call it like we see it people. No body wakes up one day and says, "YES! Today is my abortion day! Rock on!" Nobody is happy about it. There aren't parties to celebrate. It is a morbid dark and depressing day. They hate that day every year. They thought it wasn't a big deal. They were wrong. Ask them. Go ahead and ask them, if you even have the guts to bring it up. Nobody talks about it. Everyone is walking on eggshells.

Let's provide some options to these women. Why is it so flippin' difficult and expensive to adopt a child?! I, myself, would love to adopt a child. I would gladly change the diapers, read the stories, and play "gonna getcha!" I can't afford to shell out $15,000 to pay all of the fees. I could easily give a child a home and Mommy and Daddy... a family. I could give a baby a chance.

My fear... is that we think that there is a black and white solution. That we think that we can wash our hands of the dirty work, by electing someone who may or may not do anything about the abortion rate in our country.

We need to be hands on. We need to talk about it, even though it hurts. We need to make a change.